A great number of dolls and toy figures have been provided through the years which replicate activities such as skating or dancing. Both ice skating and roller skating activities have been replicated. In most such dolls, apparatus is provided for leg movement together with a balancing mechanism which seeks to simulate the movements of skating or dancing or the like. While many of these dolls perform well and appear to be skating or dancing or other activities such as walking and the like, little, if any, attention has been directed to simulating the twirling and spin maneuvers typical of skating or dancing. In most cases, those dolls which do attempt to provide twirling or spinning maneuvers are similar to "music box" type characters in that a stationary platform or base is provided for supporting the doll together with apparatus for rotating or spinning the doll upon the stationary base.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,555 issued to Kennedy sets forth a SKATING DOLL PLATFORM having a base supporting an upright bearing and a shaft having an upper end which projects above the bearing and is clamped to one leg of the doll to support it above the base. The lower end of the shaft projects into the base and is joined to an actuator having an eccentric tip which frictionally engages the horizontal play surface and which is caused to rotate in various fashions as the base is moved about.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,517 issued to Kamijima sets forth an ACTION MECHANISM FOR DOLL having a base supporting a rotatable drive shaft extending upwardly therefrom. The rotating shaft is coupled to a doll to provide spinning movement of the doll.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,206 issued to Kimura sets forth a BASE AND ROTATABLY MOUNTED DOLL WITH RELATIVELY MOVABLE PART having a base and internal drive mechanism coupled to an upwardly directed small pedestal. The base drive mechanism rotates the small pedestal to rotate the doll. In addition, a drive shaft extends upwardly from the base pedestal and passes through apertures formed in a doll's leg. The upper end of the drive shaft supports a drive gear coupled to an arm moving mechanism housed within the doll torso.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,726 issued to Flicker et al sets forth a DOLL WITH MOVABLE LEGS, HEAD, TILTABLE TORSO having a first leg secured to the torso for pivotal movement relative thereto and the other leg hingedly coupled to the torso for pivotal movement about a fore-to-aft access. The head member is connected through gear devices to the first leg. Relative displacement between the first and second leg members may result in tilting the torso relative to the second leg member and rotating the head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,280 issued to Kelley sets forth an ANIMATED FIGURE WITH INTERACTIVE HEAD AND TORSO having an upper and lower torso pivotally joined near the figure's waist. The head is pivotally secured to the neck portion of the upper torso. Arm and leg members are pivotally secured to the upper and lower torso portions, respectively. A gear drive and drive shaft mechanism is supported within the upper torso and is coupled between the lower torso and the head to provide rotation of the head in response to rotation of the lower torso.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,070 issued to Mullen et al sets forth a FINGER ACTUATED TOY FIGURE having a multiply jointed toy figure supporting finger attachments at its biceps and thighs which in turn receive the fingers of an operator allowing the doll to be animated by finger movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,988 issued to Kimondo sets forth a TWIRLING BREAK-DANCING TOY DEVICE having a main housing which supports a rotatable shaft defining an upper portion projecting outwardly therefrom. A coupling element is secured to the projecting shaft and is joined to an articulated doll. As the shaft is rotated, the spinning motion imparts action to the doll.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,764 issued to Yeu sets forth a DANCING DOLL WITH HIP MOVEMENT AND 180.degree. ROTATION having a base supporting a drive mechanism which in turn rotates an angled shaft in a conical rotation. The angled shaft is received within one leg of an articulated doll resulting in hip movement as the shaft undergoes its conical travel.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,097 issued to Gardel et al sets forth a CRANK OPERATED DANCING DOLL having a torso formed of an upper portion and a lower portion in which the upper portion gyrates with respect to the lower portion. The doll's arms are articulated and swing alternately in a forward and back movement. The head also gyrates as the torso is moving.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,384 issued Gardel et al sets forth a BALLERINA DOLL having articulated limbs and simulating a ballet dancer. Leg and arm movement is synchronized to raise one leg while the arms are moving downward and to have the arms raised as the leg moves downward to a vertical position. Also included is a head spotting mechanism for controlling rotation of the head as a function of rotation of the torso.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,672 issued to Cook et al sets forth an ACTION FIGURE IN WHICH MANIPULATION OF ONE ARM PRODUCES ROTATION OF BOTH LEGS ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS in which a doll includes an upper torso and lower torso rotatably coupled together with drive means responding to pivotal motion of a doll arm to provide rotation of the lower torso with respect to the upper torso.
In loosely related areas of the prior art, U.S. Pat. 4,702,350 issued to Orii et al sets forth a SPRING DRIVE DEVICE while U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,573 issued to Matsuyama sets forth a SPIRAL STRING TOY WITH A PULLING STRING having a spring driven pull-string wound drive apparatus for moving parts of the doll.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have improved the art, and in some instances enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for evermore interesting, novel, and amusing dolls which simulate the spinning and twirling activities of skating or dancing or the like.